ZooAmerica: Free Weekend!

On the weekend of Saturday, January 22 and Sunday, January 23, ZooAmerica, in Hershey, PA, is holding a free community weekend each day from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  All guests will be able to enter the zoo at no charge (tickets typically run for $10/adult).  This is a great opportunity to get out to the Hershey area to enjoy both the zoo and also the various chocolate tourism in the town.

It's approximately a two-hour drive from Philadelphia to get to Hershey, so you may also consider staying over night at one of the many hotels in the area.  If this appeals to you, I'd personally suggest booking through hotels.com to obtain the best prices in the area.  And if you're feeling very luxurious, you may want to experience the Chocolate Spa while in the area!

Hershey Gardens

When most people think of Hershey they think of either the chocolate or the theme park.  If you look a little bit further though, you'll discover that across the street from Hershey Park are the Hershey Gardens.  There are 23 acres of gorgeous gardens located here with plant-life that ranges from beautiful flowers to delicious smelling herbs.

In addition to the various plant life you'll find here, there is also the Children's Garden, which features fun outdoor activities for children of all ages.  The final portion you'll find is the Butterfly House, which is open only during summer months.  Here, you can see many beautiful examples of various butterflies and stare in amazement at their varying color patterns.

It should be noted that to enter the gardens, there is a $10 admission charge.  However, before we entered the gardens, we went into the gift shop to browse.  After we were done there, we walked out the back exit into the gardens.  Doing this, we inadvertently never did pay to get in.  This seems to be a flaw in the entry system that you can take advantage of which we didn't even realize until we were leaving the gardens.

Hershey Park

Are you a chocolate lover? Well, then at some point in your life, you must make a pilgrimage to Hershey, PA. You'll know as soon as you enter the town since the lightposts are all topped of with a gigantic Hershey's Kiss.

Inside the park, you'll find entertainment for people of all ages. Be sure though to buy your tickets elsewhere before you go though. Giant grocery stores have great deals on tickets ($41 plus free parking), but you can also get discount at various fast food restaurants and AAA.

For those that are thrill-seekers, there is no shortage of roller coasters here. My personal favorite is Storm Runner, which shoots you out like a gun, spinning you around and sending you through some loops. Some other roller coaster highlights are the Farenheit and Sidewinder.

For those that love water parks, there is a small section called the Boardwalk inside the park with various water rides and slides. Be sure you remember a change of clothes if you plan on coming to this portion of the park!

Connected to the park is also ZooAmerica, which is a small zoo, with it's highlight being a great bear.

Right outside of the park is Chocolate World, which is a chocolate lover's dream. There is a free ride in here that takes you through the whole process of the creation of Hershey's chocolate, and also offers a free sample after the ride. In addition, for an additional cost, there's the new "Create a Candy Bar" exhibit that will allow you to create your own candy!

Also, when you go on hot days (like we did...it hit over 100 degrees!), make sure you drink lots of water. You should also note that all places in the park with a fountain soda machine will give you a cup of water for free if you ask. This can save a good amount of money in the park instead of paying their inflated prices on various drinks.